The listing agent for the sale, Ross Conn, said the owners were ready to move on and saw an opportunity to pitch the site for potential development.

"They've had the property for many years and they've decided it's just time to sell," he said. "There's a lot of value in it right now."

Conn pointed to the site's designation as TOD-4, transit-oriented development that allows for significant height and mixed-use, as well as the recent construction of a state office building, as potential highlights to investors.

"We're hoping that will be a factor," he said.

State records show the property is co-owned by Calvert Lofts LLC and JBL Calvert LLC, the latter being a company owned by Jeremy Landsman, a developer who in 2013 was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison as part of a 16-person federal pot-conspiracy case. City Paper last wrote about how, after his release, he attended the RECON convention staged by the International Council of Shopping Centers in Las Vegas.

Asked if the city's recent condemnation played a part in the decision to sell, Conn said he didn't know.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I didn't discuss [the owners'] decision to sell. They said they wanted to do it."

Conn is listed as a broker at Avenue Real Estate LLC, which previously listed Landsman as a member of the group's team.

Shortly after City Paper spoke with Conn, Landsman's name had been pulled from the site.